


Honor and Tradition

by Elsinor



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Braids, Dothraki Hairstyles, Dothraki Traditions, Gen, Post-Episode: s08e03 The Long Night, Sansa and Dany don't have to be enemies, no S08e04 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-26 23:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18727354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elsinor/pseuds/Elsinor
Summary: As the people rebuild Winterfell after The Long Night, Daenerys comes to bring Sansa a gift





	Honor and Tradition

Daenerys Targaryen was not a woman to knock. As queen, she went where she pleased and only rarely bothered to be announced along the way. She walked with purpose into Sana’s solar while the redhead was adjusting her skirts. 

“I have a gift for you, Lady Stark”

If Sansa was surprised, there was no flinch in her movements as she turned to face Daenerys and gave a slight yet well practiced curtsey. 

“Your Grace, how can I be of service?”

The cold of the North kept the smell of decay to a minimum, but the windows behind Sansa oversaw the destruction of the outer walls. Piles of bricks next to rows of corpses and people working below to clear the debris. Daenerys could see pyres being built on the other side, rows of them to accommodate the many dead. 

The many Dothraki dead. 

“I have a gift. You wear a plain hairstyle, like most Northern women. It is a tradition among the Dothraki that after a battle is won, you add to your hair one bell and one braid for each victory.”

“There were many long haired warriors lost in the battle” Sansa said as she rose to her full height. She looked imposing in dark clothes and black leather, her height an advantage over the much shorter queen.

“Each one victorious until death. The Dothraki only cut their hair in defeat, and so as their braids become more intricate you can hear the twinkling of bells as they pass. It's almost musical to listen to them practice swordplay.” 

“They didn’t often have their hair uncovered up here in the north. Their climate is much warmer than even our summers and so I did not have much chance to hear it." 

“Even so, Lady Sansa, I come here to bring you one. You have won a battle, and so you have won the right to your own war braid. The Dothraki are my people - they have suffered and died for the realm alongside the rest of the Westerosi. They fought with their long braids and twinkling bells astride their horses. Because we were victorious, we add a braid and a bell. We will continue to add bells to our hair as we beat back Cercei’s armies, and she will learn terror when she hears us coming.”

“Cercei never liked braids.” Sansa mused aloud “Tall styles of the south, twisted and packed together over hair rats or waxed into place, but never braids.”

“Her hair is short now. She has suffered a defeat and it shows.”

Sansa gave a small nod at that. “So goes the queen so goes the court. I’m sure many a lady is glad not to have to emulate those heavy and painstaking styles. Compared to that, even a knee length braid becomes practical.”

Daenerys’ answering smile was more wistful. “Until his death, my husband’s braids were cared for by several in his Khal. Practical for horseback riding, but still vanity.”

“The bells tell our enemies we are survivors.”

“Yes. We are a new people, a new version of the Seven Kingdoms, and so I believe that we should share in this tradition. I bring you bells of your own, bells that you have earned fighting for my people, and I would like you to join me in wearing them. Together we can celebrate our success on the battlefield, and honor the ways of those who died for us.”

Daenerys stepped forward and handed the small box she carried to Sansa. She could hear a faint ringing as the box moved, and then she left. 

She did not have an audience with Sansa for the rest of the day, but could see a glint of the bells reflecting in the sunlight across the courtyard. 

The Dothraki, her people, would live on

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this while watching Episode 4 because I wanted to see something other then animosity between them. Please let me know what you think!


End file.
